Call for Riga Residents to Make the City Brighter for “Staro Rīga 2014”

In 2014, the “Staro Rīga” Festival of Light commences the public participation programme “Riga Carnival” for the first time that, with the motto “Light Up Your City!”, urges companies, government and municipal institutions, and residents to create colourful light installations in the windows and on facades of buildings until the 18th of November.

The light objects created by the public during the campaign and the exhibits included in the festival’s main programme will be on show at aover a hundred locations throughout the city to create a festive mood in all of Riga.

“The entire city participates in the “Riga Carnival” – Riga buildings, the bright, colourful windows, and we ourselves as light artists. The public participation campaign puts forward the idea of transforming the city, buildings, facades, and windows, making them brighter for a festive period of adventure, exploration and discovery in the European Capital of Culture,” says Diāna Čivle, the Director of the “Riga 2014” Foundation and curator of the “Staro Rīga 2014” festival.

Participants in the “Riga Carnival” campaign will put their light objects on a virtual map. The public, on the other hand, will have the opportunity to express their opinion and support their favourite “Riga Carnival” participants and objects through online voting.

The voting will be in two categories: “Riga Carnival” facades transformed by lighting, and “Riga Carnival” windows, either individual or as constituents of a building as a light object. During the “Staro Rīga 2014” public participation campaign, the light objects must be on show daily from the 14th of November through the 18th of November, 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. every night.

The works will be posted online at www.staroriga.lv, which is where voting for the best light objects will be under way during the campaign. The authors of the best works will be presented with surprise gifts. Participants in the campaign can register their objects electronically at www.staroriga.lv, starting from the 10th of November.

There are a lot of ways to light up a window or a building façade – spotlights, LED light bulbs and twinkle lights, coloured bulbs, neon lights, and other sources of light. Likewise, image, overhead, and slide projectors, as well as other multimedia devices can be used to transform the façade of a building. Finally, various stencils, tinting colours, coloured adhesive film, and other materials to tint the light coming from windows can also come in handy. On the 18th of November, the birthday of Latvia, the “Riga 2014” foundation and the Education, Culture and Sports Department of the Riga City Council urge everyone in the city to decorate their windows, and entire buildings, with the help of candles.

The organisers of the festival emphasise that all those who wish to participate have to ensure fire safety, treat their own and neighbours’ property with due respect, as well as exercise caution when dealing with electricity or open fire. In addition, lighting up the façade of a building requires the building owner’s permission.

For more information about participation in the “Staro Rīga 2014” Festival of Light, visit the festival’s website www.staroriga.lv, or call the “Riga 2014” foundation at 67041022, or write to e-mail info@staroriga.lv.

The “Staro Rīga” Festival of Light will experience a positive “force majeure” during the European Capital of Culture year, becoming a platform for international and national multimedia light and technology art projects.

The main exhibits at the festival will be video installations that have won international acclaim or were created specifically for the festival.

“Lattelecom”, the main co-operation partner of the “Staro Rīga 2014” festival, will set up new WiFi hotspots at bus and trolley-bus stops near the Cabinet of Ministers and Riga Regional Court buildings, meant for the visitors to the festival. This in addition to the more than 1,000 free WiFi hotspots in Riga – the European capital of free WiFi. On the other hand, the “1188” directory assistance will, as usual, create an online map of all “Staro Rīga 2014” exhibits, which will be convenient to use also in mobile phones and tablet computers.

Insurance company “Ergo”, the official insurance partner of “Riga 2014” and a supporter of the main cultural events in Latvia this year, is the insurer of this and other key events in the European Capital of Culture programme of Riga.

The “Staro Rīga 2014” Festival of Light is financed by the Riga City Council, the festival’s partner “Lattelecom” and other co-operation partners, the “Connecting Cities” network of the European Union’s programme “Culture 2007-2013”, and the EEA/Norway Financial Instrument in Latvia. The festival is organised by the “Riga 2014” foundation.